Golf putter with rotatable sole device mounted thereon

ABSTRACT

A golf putter with at least one rotatable spherical device mounted in the bottom of the putting head to reduce friction between the head and the putting surface during the putting stroke. A variation of the putter permits the device to be removed from the club and replaced by another one having different characteristics.

United States Patent Jacob 51 Aug. 1, 1972 [54] GOLF PUTTER WITHROTATABLE SOLE DEVICE MOUNTED THEREON [72] Inventor: Richard J. Jacob,Dayton, Ohio [73] Assignee: Dayco Corporation, Dayton, Ohio [22] Filed:Dec. 18, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 99,445

[52] US. Cl. ..273/174, 273/167 A [51] Int. Cl. ..A63b 53/04 [58] Fieldof Search....273/32 R, 67 R, 67 A, 77, 128

R, 273/129, 163 R, 167 R, 167 A, 169, 171, I l72,174,186,193 R, 194R[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,255,332 9/1941 Russell..273/174 3,185,483 5/1965 Klynman ..273/162 R 709,1 14 9/1902 Rockwell..273/174 12/1955 Watson ..273/128 R 3,377,065 4/1968 White ..273/174X3,529,825 9/1970 White ..273/174 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS11,463 5/ 1902 Great Britain ..273/174 20,698 9/1913 Great Britain..273/167 A 176,164 3/1922 Great Britain ..273/128 R 328,823 5/1930Great Britain ..273/163 R Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham AssistantExaminer-Richard J. Apley Attorney-Reuben Wolk [5 7] ABSTRACT A golfputter with at least one rotatable spherical device mounted in thebottom of the putting head to reduce friction between the head and theputting surface during the putting stroke. A variation of the putterpermits the device to be removed from the club and replaced by anotherone having different characteristics.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAUG 1 I972 3-. 880.868

SHEETIUFZ 25 FIG-3 8 INVENTOR RICHARD J. JACOB PATENTEUAUG 1 19123,680,868

sum 2 OF 2 INVENTOR RICHARD J. JACOB GOLF PUTTER WITH ROTATABLE SOLEDEVICE MOUNTED THEREON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Any golfer knows thatone of the most frustrating aspects of the game of golf resides in thefact that he 'may reach the golfing green in a comparatively few strokesover a long distance ranging from about 120 yards to 550 yards in mostcases, only to find that he is still faced with the exacting task ofplacing his ball in a small hole. This final'act in many cases requiresas many strokes as the negotiation of the entire distance from the teeto the green. It is, therefore,-highly important that everythingpossible be done to improve the golfers accuracy during the puttingoperation in order to place the ball in the hole with as few strokes aspossible.

One of the causes of inaccurate putting is'the resistance of the golfingsurface, which is usually sod consisting of special fine-bladed grass,although it is also possible that certain types of putting may be doneon artificial turf, carpeting, concrete, hard sand, etc. The naturalresistance of any of these surfaces to the bottom of a conventionalputter tends to increase the problems of accurate putting because therigid nature of the putter permits it to be easily deflected when itcontacts the irregularities of the playing surface. It would bedesirable, therefore, to minimize the friction between the putter andplaying surface, and thus to improve accuracy. One attempt to accomplishthis is described in US. Pat. No. 2,426,274, in which the inventorprovides a series of discs or a roller on the club head to reducefriction. There are, however, certain drawbacks tothis design which thepresent invention overcomes. I

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention improves the action of aputter by using devices similar to ball bearings, which are placed inthe bottom of the putting head so that the club head moves inits puttingpath with less friction and more accuracy. The use of spherical devicessuch as balls accomplishes much better results than any other type ofrolling devices because they permit flexibility in other directions thanthe normal direction of motion of the putter. It is possible toaccomplish this by one or more balls which would provide a differenttype of operation in accordance with the desires of the individual.

An alternative form of the invention provides that the spherical devicesmay be removed from the club for cleaning out any grass or dirt that maybecome lodged in the devices, while at the same time permittingreplacement by devices of different size, weight or quantity toaccommodate the skills of each individual user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of one ofthe embodiments of the invention, illustrating the use of threespherical devices.

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view similarto FIG. 1, illustrating a modified form of theinvention having two spherical devices.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating another modified formof the invention with a single device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded isometric view of another form of the inventionhaving removable devices.

FIG. 6 is a side view in partial section, illustrating the putter ofFIG. 5 in assembled form. I

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7-7 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings,FIG. 1 illustrates a putter 10 having a putter head 11 of more or lessconventional shape. The putter may be made of steel or aluminum in thesame manner in which putters have been made for many years; or may bemade of plastic material which has more recently been utilized for themanufacture of putters. The exact type of plastic material is notcritical but will preferably be a hard material such as nylon, ABS,polycarbonate, or the like. The exact shape of the putting head is alsonot critical, and although it is shown in FIG. 2 to be comparativelydeep, it may also be considerably thinner as in conventional putters.The head has a bottom 12 and a putting face 13 which contacts the ball.

Mounted in the bottom 12 of the putting head are three spherical devices14, 15, and 16 which are aligned along an axis parallel to the puttingface 13. These may be similar to conventional metal ball bearings ortheymay simply be plastic balls made of similar material to a plasticputter. In the cross-sectional view of the putter of FIG. 2 it is seenthat a typical ball 15 is mounted in a housing or race 17, with the headof the putter having an aperture 18 in which the ball is free to rotate.It can be readily seen that the balls 14, 15, and 16 contact the golfingsurface 19 during the typical putting motion of FIG. 2, rather thanhaving the bottom 12 of the putter make surface contact. The reductionin frictional contact thus produces greater control and accuracy instriking the ball B.

FIG. 3 illustrates a modified form of the invention in which a putter 20has a putting head 21 with a bottom 22 and a putting face 23. Thisputter is identical to putter 10 except that only two spherical devices24 and 25 are mounted in the bottom 22.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further form of the invention in which a putter 30has a putting head 31, a bottom 32, and a putting face 33. This putteris also identical to putters 10 and 20 except that only a singlespherical device 34 is shown as mounted in the bottom 32.

It should also be understood that the number of spherical devices, theexact arrangement in the bottom of the putting head, and the size of thedevices are not limiting to the inventive concept. A number of factorsenter into the selection of these devices and the individual user mayprefer a lighter or heavier set of devices or may find that his ownparticular putting touch is better adapted to the use of a single deviceor ball rather than two or three.

In order to provide additional versatility of the novel device, afurther form of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 in whichthe spherical antifriction devices may be readily removed from the clubhead. There are several reasons for doing this: first of all, it ispossible that dirt or blades of grass may work their way into thespherical devices, and it may be desired to remove them from the club sothat they may be cleaned. The modified structure illustrated provides ameans for doing this in a very simple manner without the need forspecial tools or without affecting the structural integrity of theputter. Another advantage of the removable devices lies in the fact thata golfer can readily remove a certain quantity or size of the devices orballs and replace them with other quantities or sizes. For example, thegolfer may prefer to use a double ball structure on artificial turf butmay find that a single ball structure is superior on natural grass. Thisexpedient also permits the marketing of the club to the public with anoptional number of inserts containing a different quantity or differentweight of the spherical devices.

The above concept is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 in which referencenumeral 40 represents a putter having a putting head 41, a bottomsurface 42, and a face 43, similar to the putters 10, 20, and 30described above. However, in this form of the invention a longitudinalslot 44 is located in the bottom of the putting head parallel to theface 43. This slot extends from the toe portion toward the heel portionpartially upward into the head and is exposed at the bottom and isprovided with a pair of shoulders 45. The spherical devices 47 and 48are mounted on a member 46 which may be slid into the slot and restsupon the shoulders 45, as better illustrated in FIG. 7. The member 46rests firmly within the slot, but yet the ball is free to contact theground on the lower side and is free to rotate within the space 50 atits upper surface. The member 46 is preferably made of a metal orplastic material which fits snugly within the slot so that it may besimply slid into place and held by friction and removed withcomparatively little effort. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the member 46 hasa vertical segment 49.which serves to block off the slot 44 so thatdirt, grass, etc. will not accumulate in the,

space 50.

When it is desired to remove the member 46 with the two sphericaldevices it is simply done with the fingers or a hand tool and may thenbe readily replaced by a similar member having a different quantity orsize of these devices. It should be understood that the specificstructure shown is only exemplary and that many other equally simplearrangements may be utilized for the removal and replacement of a memberand devices.

I claim:

1. A golf putter for use on a golfing surface comprising a handle and aputting head; said putting head having a putting face, toe and heelportions, and a bottom surface; a slot located in said head extendingparallel to said putting face from said toe portion toward said heelportion and opening into said bottom surface; and further comprising anassembly having a housing member and at least one freely rotatablespherical device mounted therein; said assembly slidably and securelymounted within said slot; said device contacting the golfing surfaceduring putting action to reduce friction therewith.

2. The putter of claim 1 in which said putting head includes a pair ofshoulders defining said slot on the bottom surface of said head, saidassembly being supported on said shoulders.

3. The putter of claim 1 having at least two spaced devices alignedalong an axis parallel to said putting f d d b It rfa l lie giitte o f li m l liaving only a single device centrally mounted with respect to thebottom surface.

5. The putter of claim 1 in which said putting head is made of plastic.

1. A golf putter for use on a golfing surface comprising a handle and aputting head; said putting head having a putting face, toe and heelportions, and a bottom surface; a slot located in said head extendingparallel to said putting face from said toe portion toward said heelportion and opening into said bottom surface; and further comprising anassembly having a housing member and at least one freely rotatablespherical device mounted therein; said assembly slidably and securelymounted within said slot; said device contacting the golfing surfaceduring putting action to reduce friction therewith.
 2. The putter ofclaim 1 in which said putting head includes a pair of shoulders definingsaid slot on the bottom surface of said head, said assembly beingsupported on said shoulders.
 3. The putter of claim 1 having at leasttwo spaced devices aligned along an axis parallel to said putting faceand said bottom surface.
 4. The putter of claim 1 having only a singledevice centrally mounted with respect to the bottom surface.
 5. Theputter of claim 1 in which said putting head is made of plastic.